East Meadow Man Faces Up to 20 Years in Prison for Falsely Accusing ‘Enemies’ of Child Abuse and Other Crimes

Zafonte wrote numerous letters to government agencies accusing people he felt had wronged him, including school officials

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that an East Meadow man has been charged with 28 felonies after writing letters to government agencies that contained knowingly false information about people he felt had wronged him, including accusations of child abuse by East Meadow school employees.

Robert Zafonte, 65, who is an investigator for the Town of Hempstead and a retired Sgt. in the New York City Housing Police Department, has been charged with 14 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and 14 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree in connection with ten separate letters, in addition to 32 misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting an incident and harassment. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Zafonte was arrested by DA investigators Wednesday morning on his way to work.  He will be arraigned later today in First District Court, Hempstead.

Rice said that from mid-2002 through November 2007, Zafonte made several false reports targeting a number of people with whom he had some sort of conflict. The first letter targeted an East Meadow School District employee after Zafonte unsuccessfully lobbied for his daughter to be hired by the district. Zafonte mailed a letter to the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office alleging that the victim was stealing money from the district and depositing it into a Swiss bank account.

After an investigation by the Comptroller’s Office revealed no impropriety, Zafonte mailed a second letter containing further allegations. When the victim was cleared of any wrongdoing a second time, Zafonte made anonymous complaints to the New York State Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) accusing the victim of child abuse.

In additional letters, Zafonte anonymously alleged to the Nassau County Tax Assessor and Town of Hempstead Building Department that an East Meadow couple had an illegal fence, apartment, and tenants on their property, and that the wife abused children at an elementary school in town. The letters are believed to be retaliation for an argument the couple had with Zafonte regarding the campaign methods of a school board candidate who Zafonte supported.

Zafonte also targeted a woman who had responded to a letter he had written to the East Meadow Herald in its “Letters to the Editor” section, by anonymously writing OCFS a letter accusing her and her husband of abusing children.

Rice said that in the case of each letter, the false claims were thoroughly investigated and proven to be unfounded. Rice said investigators from her office obtained a sample of Zafonte’s DNA and compared it to DNA taken from the anonymous letters. The genetic profiles were a match. In addition, investigators found Zafonte's fingerprints on two of the letters.

Handling the case for the District Attorney's Office is Assistant District Attorney Andrew T. Garbarino of the Public Corruption Bureau.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.